Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded down 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $105.80 and last traded at $106.13. 1,196,591 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 8,756,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $263.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.